The kleineondernemersregeling, the Dutch small businesses scheme usually shortened to KOR, is happily offered as the simple option when you apply for a VAT number. No more VAT returns, no VAT on your invoices, less paperwork. For a small business with Dutch customers that sounds attractive, and sometimes it is.
For content creators it is usually a bad deal, and the reason is precisely what makes the KOR look attractive.
How the KOR works
Under the KOR you are exempt from VAT. Concretely:
- You charge no VAT to your customers
- You file no periodic VAT return
- You may not reclaim the VAT you pay on your business purchases
That third point is the price. The scheme applies up to a turnover threshold, in the Netherlands 20,000 euro per calendar year. Go above it and the exemption falls away, and from that moment you are liable for VAT as normal. There are additional rules for cross-border situations and a minimum period you commit to when you opt in or out, so check the current conditions before applying or cancelling.
Why this works out badly for creators
Take a creator working on a foreign platform. She charges no Dutch VAT on that turnover, because the charge shifts to the customer's country or falls outside Dutch VAT altogether. See VAT on your OnlyFans income.
What does that mean for the KOR decision?
- What the KOR saves you: charging VAT. But you were not charging it anyway, because you charge 0%. So this gains you nothing.
- What the KOR costs you: the VAT you reclaim on equipment, software and subscriptions. And that is a real amount.
So you give up something of value in exchange for a benefit that does not exist in your situation. All you are left with is less administration, and that is exactly the part you outsource anyway.
A worked example
A creator has 17,000 euro of turnover in a year, entirely from a foreign platform. That year she invests 4,800 euro including VAT in equipment and subscriptions, of which roughly 833 euro is VAT at the high rate.
Without the KOR: she charges 0% on her turnover and reclaims 833 euro of VAT. Four returns, 833 euro net in her favour.
With the KOR: she charges 0% on her turnover, exactly as before, and reclaims nothing. No returns, 0 euro net.
The difference is 833 euro, in one year. For a creator in a build-up year who invests more, it climbs. And that amount is not a one-off: as long as you keep replacing equipment and paying for subscriptions, it comes back every year.
When the KOR does make sense
There are situations where the sum flips, and they all share one feature: your customers are Dutch consumers and your costs are low.
- You sell mainly to Dutch consumers. Think of your own webshop, workshops or merchandise sold directly to individuals. You would then have to charge 21% VAT, which raises your price or lowers your margin. Under the KOR you do not, and that is a genuine competitive advantage.
- You have almost no business costs. No equipment, no subscriptions, nothing carrying VAT. Then the KOR costs you nothing.
- Your turnover is very small and will stay that way. At a few hundred euro a year, no advantage outweighs the hassle.
For the creator earning most of her turnover from a foreign platform and investing in equipment, none of those three is true.
The KOR and the threshold: mind the crossing
Grow through the 20,000 euro threshold and your situation changes mid-year. From the moment you go above it you are liable for VAT, which means charging VAT from then on to the customers where it applies.
For creators with foreign platform income that is practically manageable, because nothing is added on that turnover. If you also sell to Dutch consumers it gets harder: you then have to adjust your prices halfway through the year or give up margin.
The most common mistake we see: someone crosses the threshold and notices too late. The VAT you should have charged can still be assessed, and on sales to consumers you can no longer collect it from your customers. It then comes out of your own margin.
The threshold when your turnover is foreign
The 20,000 euro threshold looks at turnover that is taxable in the Netherlands. For a creator with foreign platform income that is the heart of the confusion, because a large part of that turnover shifts to the customer's country or falls outside Dutch VAT.
That can produce a situation that looks favourable on paper: you have 60,000 euro of turnover and still sit under 20,000 for the KOR threshold. You then formally stay inside the scheme while in fact running a substantial business.
The practical conclusion is not that you should use that room, but the opposite. It is one more reason not to apply for the KOR: you would sit for years in a scheme that gives you no benefit, costs you a structural refund, and whose application to your particular mix of turnover needs unnecessary explaining. Since 2025 there are also additional rules for cross-border situations, so have this assessed per situation rather than copied from an old summary.
The KOR and your invoices
Inside the KOR you put no VAT on your invoices and state no VAT rate. That has two consequences creators find unpleasantly surprising.
Business customers can see it. A brand receiving an invoice from you without VAT can tell you fall under a small businesses scheme. For some parties that is a signal about the size of your business, and it is not always the signal you want to send in a negotiation.
You cannot switch over halfway. Grow through the threshold and you have to charge VAT from that moment. For business customers that is an adjustment to your invoices. For consumers it is a price rise or a lower margin, mid-year, facing customers who know the old price.
Leaving the KOR, and what happens then
You can opt out, and there is a minimum period you are committed to. What changes in practice the moment you leave:
- You start charging VAT where it applies, and 0% where the charge shifts
- You file a return every quarter again
- You can reclaim VAT on purchases from that moment
- For capital assets bought during the KOR, an adjustment may come into play, because their use shifts from exempt to taxed
That fourth point is often missed and sometimes worth money. If you made an expensive investment during the KOR, the question is whether part of that VAT can still be reclaimed now that your position changes. That is a calculation per situation and it is worth working out before you opt out.
Frequently asked questions
If I charge 0% VAT, does that income count towards the threshold?
The threshold looks at turnover that is taxable in the Netherlands. For turnover that shifts abroad or falls outside Dutch VAT, that works differently than for Dutch turnover. It is one of the places where the KOR gets needlessly complicated for creators, and a good reason not to apply for a scheme you do not need.
I am in the KOR and just bought a 2,000 euro camera. Can I still reclaim that VAT?
Not under the KOR. That is exactly the effect this article describes. If you leave the KOR later, that applies to purchases from that moment on.
Is the KOR the same as an exemption from income tax?
No, and this is a stubborn confusion. The KOR is about VAT and nothing else. Your income tax is entirely separate: you pay tax on your profit, KOR or no KOR.
What does it cost to have the returns filed instead of taking the KOR?
With us the quarterly return is part of the fixed monthly price, so there is no separate charge per return. That leaves the only advantage of the KOR, less work, weighing nothing against the refund. See how we work.
In closing
The KOR is not a bad scheme, but it was designed for a business that would otherwise charge VAT to Dutch customers. A creator with foreign platform income is not that, and for her the scheme is a refund voluntarily left on the table.
Have the decision made before you apply. That is one conversation, and it often saves years.